Ten Best Coaches In Florida State History

The Florida State Seminoles have a long history of having outstanding coaches. At one point the Seminoles have had the winningest coach ever in football and baseball. The university has several others that have won national championships. So who are the best Seminole coaches of all-time?

We have a football coach now that we hope will be on this list one day, but he hasn't coached a day for FSU so far. The early returns are good. While we have had a few great football coaches, we've had some excellent coaches in some other sports too. This list is going to be an outstanding reflection of a fantastic athletic program.

FSU's coaches in all sports will be evaluated over their entire body of work. Doing that, the 10 that have had the greatest success will be included on this list. Only that individuals contribution to Florida State University will be considered. What did that coach do for this great university?

Here is the list of the 10 greatest coaches in Florida State Seminole history!

10. Odell Haggins

1994-Present

4-2 Record as Head Coach (.667 Winning Percentage)

Odelll Haggins twice took over a broken team at FSU and united those teams to lead them to bowl games. He extended FSU's legendary bowl streak and then reestablished a new bowl streak this past season. This list is mostly made up of head coaches and Odell has only coached 6 games, so his inclusion may seem like a stretch to some. Repairing the damage left by Jimbo Fisher and Willie Taggart respectively was no easy task. Add in that he is everything right with FSU and has been one of the best position coaches in the country since 1994, and I had to include Odell on the list. Jimbo Fisher won a national championship at FSU and he won 29 games in a row, but he also completely wrecked the program and is the biggest reason the program is in the hole it is now. The biggest reason why it didn't get even worse than this is Odell. He will also be the biggest reason we will eventually come out of it. Odell belongs on the list.

9. Cecile Reynaud

1976-2001

635-326 Record as head coach (.661 Winning Percentage)

Reynaud is a living legend that helped put FSU women athletics on the map. Her success was perhaps best felt inside the classroom as Reynaud had all but two of her athletes graduate during her 26 year tenure. On the volleyball court, Reynaud led the Seminoles to 7 conference titles and 10 postseason appearances. The two-time ACC coach of the year is recognized nationally as one of the absolute best volleyball minds out there. She published several books and made DVDs about coaching the sport.

8. Leonard Hamilton

2002-Present

379-221 (.632 Winning Percentage)

Hamilton has gotten better with age and has managed to turn the football school at Florida State into a basketball powerhouse. It is really crazy to consider that FSU just won the ACC in a league with perennial powerhouses Duke and North Carolina. Hamilton won the ACC Tournament way back in 2012 too, its not just now. The 3x ACC Coach of the Year is someone that I was tempted to put much higher on this list. This team was Hamilton's best and I will forever believe that they would have won a national championship if the tournament was not cancelled due to Covid-19. Hamilton has figured out a recipe for success at Florida State and the program keeps getting better.

7. Sue Semrau

1997-Present

475-269 (.649 Winning Precentage)

FSU's longest tenured coach at the moment is no stranger to success herself. She is the all-time winningest coach in the history of the women's basketball program. Semrau has captured 2 ACC titles and is a 3x ACC Coach of the Year. FSU never reached the sweet 16 before Coach Sue came, and she has helped the Seminoles reach the Sweet 16 5 times. Three of those trips, included trips to the Elite 8. FSU had a really good chance to advance that far again, but Covid-19 strikes again. FSU Women's Basketball is in great hands with Coach Sue.

6. Lonni Alameda

2009-Present

555-167-1 (.768 Winning Percentage)

Alameda has brought tremendous success to the FSU softball program. The obvious feather in the cap for Alameda is the 2018 Women's College World Series championship. However, there is a lot more to the resume of the 5x ACC Coach of the Year. Florida State has won 6 ACC regular season titles, and 7 ACC tournament titles during her tenure at FSU. Each season that Alameda has coached at FSU, the team has competed in postseason play and during 3 of those seasons, the team advanced all the way to the Women's College World Series.

5. Mark Krikorian

2005-Present

276-66-30 (.782 Winning Percentage)

Krikorian his FSU's 4th longest tenured current coach. He has a really good claim to being at the top of the list. FSU has won 2 national championships during Krikorian's tenure and he has won 78% of games in which he has coached. His success at FSU has been so incredible that the Seminoles have advanced to the NCAA Tournament every year of his tenure. Not just that, but FSU has made the Quarterfinals in all but two of those seasons. During 8 of those seasons or half of his tenure, Kirkorian has taken the Seminoles to the College Cup. It is beyond incredible that he has had FSU as one of the last 4 teams in half of his seasons as head coach.

4. JoAnne Graf

1979-2008

1,437-478-6 (.748 Winning Percentage)

The Seminole softball field is named after JoAnne Graf, which should tell you a lot about the former coach. At the time of her retirement, Graf had more wins than any other coach in the history of D1 softball. Graf led the Seminoles to 17 NCAA Tournaments and 10 ACC Championships. She also led the Seminoles to 7 College World Series Games and two National Championships. Those National championships were in 1981 and 1982. The craziest thing about Graf's story is those 1981 and 1982 championships were AIAW championships (now NCAA) and were for slow pitch softball. Graf crafted a dominant team in slow pitch softball and navigated the change to fast pitch softball while keeping the Seminoles dominant. She would keep them so dominant that they would win 6 straight ACC championships from 1995-2000. JoAnne Graf is a true Seminoles legend.

3. Bob Braman

2004-Present

Braman is another long tenured coach for Florida State. Judging purely by national championships, Braman has been the most successful at FSU. His Seminoles three peated from 2006-2008. Of course the 2007 title was vacated due to the cheating scandal, but the NCAA came down way too hard on FSU and the track athletes involved in that were walk-ons that didn't contribute to the national title. The NCAA might only currently recognize two of Braman's titles, but he certainly won 3. Braman coaches two sports at FSU, cross country and track, and the Seminoles are very good at both. The cross country team advanced to 13 NCAA Championships in a 16 year period. FSU received the John McDonnell Award for the 2010-2011 and 2011-2012 seasons for having the highest average finish for cross country, indoor track, and outdoor track. Braman has 22 ACC Championships in Men's track already. He also has helped FSU to two ACC Triple Crowns (winning cross country, indoor, and outdoor in the same school year) on the women's side. Prior, to Braman's arrival, FSU never finished higher than 7th in Cross Country in the ACC. He came and delivered a balanced program that is a national powerhouse.

2. Mike Martin

1980-2019

2,029-736-4 (.734 Winning Percentage)

Martin is the first  2,000 game winner in NCAA history in any sport. He has the most wins of any coach in any sport! How can he not be near the top with that stat? How is he not #1 honestly? The big knock against Martin is that he never won the NCAA championship, but he has done so much for the university. FSU's baseball field is named after the legendary coach for one. I already mentioned his legendary win total. Martin also appeared in 41 consecutive NCAA Tournaments under Martin. FSU not only had winning teams under Martin, but they went to the postseason for that many seasons in a row. Incredible. Martin has 13 regular season conference titles and 19 tournament titles. Florida State made 17 College World Series appearances under Martin and were the national runner-up twice. Martin advanced to the Super Regionals 27 times. 27 seasons as a top 16 team is incredible no matter how you want to act like it isn't.

1. Bobby Bowden

1976-2009

304-97-4 (.758 Winning Percentage)

Bowden is the greatest coach in college football history. He was at one point the winningest football coach in history. For some reason though, the NCAA restored Paterno's wins and not his. None of that matters though, what matters is that Bobby Bowden was an absolute force for a team that never had football success prior to his arrival. Bowden had 33 straight winning seasons at Florida State and established a winning season streak that started in 1977 and did not end until 2018 (thanks Willie Taggart). Florida State finished in the top 4 every year from 1987-2000. That 14 year stretch of dominance is really what separates Bowden from the rest of the college football coaching field. It is an amazing stretch of excellence. Can you imagine if the college football playoff existed then? FSU would have far more than 2 national championships if that was the case. Those 2 national championships are why Bowden finished ahead of Martin. What an excellent group of coaches this university has produced, led by the great Bobby Bowden.

- Noland

The FSU Culture Problem Myth

A couple of weeks ago, RB Mario Pender was dismissed from the Florida State Football team for being a completely terrible human being. You do not ever hit a woman. EVER! No excuse for it. Jimbo Fisher as per usual did the right thing! With this dismissal, it did seem like a perfect time though to bring up the perception of Florida State Athletics to the country at large though.

There is a myth around college sports in general and especially Florida State Athletics when it comes to a culture problem. That being said, I do realize that Florida State has its issues and some things do need to tighten up. However, every issue at Florida State is completely overblown (other than when a serious crime actually happens and each time that player is dismissed!) and more reflective of the population at large. After reading this piece, you will see where I and so many other Seminoles are coming from.

First, this is nothing new, this myth it has been talked about since the early 90s and as early as I can remember liking football. You remember Free Shoes University? That's what Gator fans used to call us over a minor issue and when we started to become public enemy #1. The scandal was that agents bought $6,000 worth of Free Shoes for players. That seems like small potatoes today, but at the time was one of the biggest scandals ever, for some reason. Think of how many shoes athletes today get for free and tell me again how this is a huge deal. Also just try and tell me about a college kid that would turn down free shoes....I'll wait....

Oh, by the way one of those players that was linked to the free shoes scandal was Derrick Brooks. That guy, went on to become NFL Man of the Year. Derrick Brooks is regarded as one of the greatest humanitarians in the history of the league. He recently helped start a charter school here in Tampa. Brooks is well known for numerous charitable efforts. This is one of the greatest people to ever play football and he played at Florida State. While here, he was linked to that huge "scandal." I think we know that came out okay and any school would love to have Derrick Brooks as an ambassador for their program. The former linebacker now serves on Florida State's board of trustees.

Okay, so one good guy went to Florida State, so what?
Well, another NFL Man of the Year went to Florida State and played on the same team as Brooks. Warrick Dunn is that man who many would say is one of the best people in this country, not football players, but people. As of October 2015, Warrick Dunn had quietly given away 145 homes to single mothers. This dude dedicates his life towards providing a better life for single parents. I sure wish we had more ambassadors for college football programs like Florida State has in Warrick Dunn and Derrick Brooks.

The fantastic people to come out of Florida State does not end there....
Florida State has produced more NFL Men of the Year than any other school. This past year, Anquan Boldin, became the 3rd Seminole to win the Award. A school with a "culture problem" somehow managed to produce the most people worthy of being the greatest humanitarian in the NFL for that season. My favorite current football player won this award for the incredible amount that he does for his community. Sure is incredible since his school has such great culture problems,

So what?
You have 3 fantastic people that have come out of the school. That does not erase all the bad stuff they have done. Okay, let's look at every little issue since the "free shoes." We already talked about that issue already.

Randy Moss never played a game for Florida State. The school decided to give him a second chance after he was kicked off the team at Notre Dame, but he was unable to ever suit up for the Noles and was kicked out of the school after failing a drug test.

September 29, 1999, Laveranues Coles and Peter Warrick received $412.38 clothing for $21.40 after a friend of theirs illegally discounted the clothes. While obviously we all see this as horrible, I can see how a college kid sees nothing wrong with this. Warrick was suspended until the end of the investigation (2 games) while Coles was kicked off the team. The media would have you believe it is a double standard and that Warrick got special treatment Coles did not. What they won't report is that Coles was already on probation from the team for previous academic and legal issues. To that point Warrick had made no mistakes and 2 games seemed an adequate consequence for a college kid.

Travis Johnson in 2003 was accused of sexual battery by a female athlete. An all female jury acquitted Johnson after less than 30 minutes of deliberation. The case was pursued all the way to court though by State Attorney Willie Meggs.

Adrian McPherson tried to write a check to his friend forging someone else's name on November 18, 2002. Immediately upon hearing about the situation, Bobby Bowden kicked McPherson off the team. He was arrested and charged with felony grand theft on November 27. This was their starting QB and a guy that was 3-0 before his poor choice. McPherson was then charged with gambling in 2003 and bounced between the arena league and the NFL bench. Having nothing to do with this story, McPherson is currently the starting QB for the Toronto Argonauts in the CFL.

AJ Nicholson was removed from the roster for the bowl game against Penn State in the 2006 Orange Bowl. The suspension was for an alleged sexual assault at the team hotel. When asked about the incident, Joe Paterno said "a pretty girl comes to your room, what are you supposed to do?" That quote by JoePa should tell you all you need to know about Bowden v. Paterno.

The Seminoles had an athletic cheating scandal across multiple sports that rocked the athletic department in 2007. What most people don't tell you though here is that it was an academic tutor that provided the athletes the benefits. The athletes were immediately suspended. There was also no coach that had any knowledge of wrongdoing. Most important to realize though is that FSU self reported the violation to the NCAA and enacted scholarship restrictions on their own! Quite embarrassing that this happened at all, but I am proud that the university took the accountability up themselves and self reported. They enacted some consequence on the athletic department immediately.

Preston Parker was kicked off the team due to legal issues.

Greg Reid was kicked off the team due to legal issues.

Greg Dent was kicked off the team due to legal issues.

Jimbo Fisher has kicked off every person that has had serious legal issues. He has let investigations finished when we did not know all the facts. Fisher also maintained that his players were innocent until proven guilty. Fisher has run a clean program and never had a team put on probation.

So let's be honest about what this is about. You people hate Jameis Winston and think he got away with something.

Let's take a look at Mr. Winston's past then.....
Jameis Winston became public enemy in 2013 when he was accused of rape. Almost a full year after the alleged rape actually happened and multiple extortion attempts. Jameis has not been charged by anyone that has reviewed this case. Not FSUPD, not TPD, not the state attorney, not a former supreme court justice in the state. He was not only never convicted of this alleged crime. He was not even charged with wrongdoing at all in this case. Not even in a code of conduct hearing by one of the most respected justices in Florida history. A judge that was chosen in agreement by the accuser.

There is other stuff he did though!

Sure, Jameis Winston shot BB guns, got a hookup at Publix for crabs that went wrong, and cursed in public. A college kid did college things. I have friends all across the country going to different schools, this stuff happens every hour on college campuses. Does not excuse what happened, but let's not crucify the guy. He was suspended for the crab legs and did community service and was suspended for cursing. Let it be. The guy has NEVER BEEN ARRESTED OR CHARGED. There are a lot worse characters than Jameis Winston playing this great game.

To assume some massive conspiracy involving Winston and/or FSU is insulting to far too many well respected and honorable people. You can believe FSU athletics, FSUPD, TPD, the State Attorney's office, justices, and lawyers all over the state or you can believe someone that changed her account multiple times and tried to extort money from Mr. Winston. Hopefully, you don't choose the latter.

Karlos Williams was another name frequently mentioned by the media. He was allegedly involved in a domestic abuse complaint, but no charges were filed and thus the case was dropped. Williams was also mentioned in some drug case, but it was only as some guy that the guilty guy knew. I know a few people from my HS that got arrested and are thus guilty too, we all do. This does not mean that Williams should be accountable for that in any way.

Dalvin Cook was accused of assaulting a woman outside of a club. However, after an incredibly suspect 911 tape was released and all the proof leading toward the woman lying, Dalvin Cook was declared not guilty in the court of law during a very short trial.

Shortly before the Cook situation arose, backup QB De'Andre Johnson was dismissed from the football team. Video was released of Johnson assaulting a female at a nightclub and he was dismissed immediately after proof of guilt.

And now, the Mario Pender issue happened. This is a very detailed history of the issues with Florida State Football Players, but let's not forget two important things....

1) State Attorney William Meggs
Meggs is well known as being a no nonsense district attorney that will prosecute to the furthest extent of the law. He also has a reputation as being more difficult on those involved with Florida State Athletics than the general population. Despite this though, critics will have you assume that Meggs covered up for the Seminoles and especially for Jameis Winston during his time as district attorney. Ignore the countless times he has tried to take down Seminole athletes, he is obviously a plant by the athletic department. That is why he pursued a rape charge against Travis Johnson with no evidence of wrongdoing, correct? Maybe he didn't pursue the case against Winston because Jameis is 100% innocent and even he realized any attempt to pursue the case would be futile.

2) No Seminoles Ever in Trouble in the League
Isn't it amazing that a team with this much alleged protection in Tallahassee and so many players drafted, never has an alumni with issues in the league. These guys are never in trouble outside of Tallahassee. Seriously, never! If the protection is so great, they'd have to get in trouble somewhere once they left that protection and enabled behavior. There are no cases though were Seminoles get into trouble in the league. Unless you count Randy Moss who never played a game for FSU or RB Sammie Smith who was drafted way back in 1989 there have been zero discipline issues involving people that came from FSU's program once they left FSU.

The facts are quite the opposite of what you would think of a school with a "culture problem." Instead of getting into trouble, FSU football players are winning awards for community service. If FSU has a "culture problem", I know a few other schools that could use a "culture problem." Let's help these other schools develop the incredible human beings that Florida State does.

In the interest of full disclosure before uncovering this information I will give my background and admit some bias (which most non-Seminoles do not do). I am a Florida State alum. I graduated in 2009 with a degree in Sports Management and came back to the school to get my Masters in Physical Education in 2011. Additionally, I met my wife at Florida State and that has just added to the fact that the school has held a special place in my heart my entire life. Now, knowing full well that I have been a Seminole fan my entire life and by reading this article, you can see things through my perspective.

-Noland

100 Greatest Coaches of All-Time (10-1)

We have finally reached the cream of the crop. This is the best ten coaches of all-time. Now, it is important to realize that those coaches that just missed are still fantastic, but I think these are the best coaches there are. Before, we look at this last 10 though, I have linked to the first 90 and my preview write-up so that you can be caught up on what has happened so far. Enjoy!

Preview
100-91
90-81
80-71
70-61
60-51
50-41
40-31
30-21
20-11

10. Red Auerbach 

Career Coaching Record: 938-479 (.662 Winning Percentage)

Red Auerbach would appear to be a lock for the Top 5 because he has the 4th most titles on this list and 2nd most titles in NBA history, but not so fast my friend. People say Phil Jackson had talent, then what do you call what Auerbach had?

Red Auerbach had the greatest champion in professional sports history on his team. He had Bill Russell. Auerbach was an average coach before Russell arrived winning more than 60% of his games 3 times in 10 years and winning 0 titles. All of a sudden Russell arrives and they win 9 out of 10 championships and 65% of their games every year. Now, Auerbach deserves some credit for the titles and that is why he is number 10, but he can't get too much credit which is why he isn't top 5. It was Russell that anchored the Celtics dynasty. Bill Russell was an incredible mismatch and one of the greatest basketball players of all-time. He won 11 championships in the NBA and 2 in college. The guy just won. 13 years in the league and 11 championships, chew on that for a while. Yes, Auerbach was fantastic and helped him, but Bill Russell was amazing and is often overlooked. Russell was so much better than other players at that time that I could argue Auerbach outside the Top 10. I won't because he had 9 titles, but I could.

9. Frank Leahy

Career Coaching Record: 107-13-9 (.892 Winning Percentage)

Frank Leahy has the highest winning percentage of any coach on this list winning nearly 90% of his games as head coach. That alone is worthy of Top 10 consideration. Add in his 5 National Championships and you can see why he is a Top 10 coach all-time. Actually, his winning percentage is .864 when you include ties and he is slightly behind Rockne. However, I have not calculated ties in winning percentage and kept that stat separate because ties are not as prevalent anymore and I don't think they should hurt the older coaches. That being said it is clear that either Leahy or Rockne is the best coach in Notre Dame history, and I go with Leahy.

Frank Leahy was the Boston College coach before Notre Dame though and he went 20-2. He would win his first National Championship with the Eagles. Following that, Leahy had 6 seasons where his team went undefeated at Notre Dame and won 4 National Championships for the Irish. In 13 years as a head coach, Leahy never had a losing season. He would win 5 National Championships in 13 years as a Head Coach. Those championships average out to waiting less than 3 years for a championship with Leahy as a head coach. What fun times those must have been.

8. Joe McCarthy

Career Coaching Record: 2125-1333 (.615 Winning Percentage)

Joe McCarthy is ranked as the highest MLB manager on my list. His 9 league pennants and 7 MLB championships helped him there along with his .615 winning percentage. Additionally, McCarthy became the first manager in MLB history to win pennants in both leagues. He would win a NL pennant with the Chicago Cubs before moving to New York where he enjoyed most of his success. Also helping McCarthy is the fact that his .615 Winning Percentage is the highest in league history. During the World Series, McCarthy's winning percentage is .698 which is also highest in league history. Everyone's managerial numbers do get inflated with the Yankees, but McCarthy has the most wins of any Yankee manager. The brilliant manager also had winning tenures with the Cubs and Red Sox, so it wasn't just a New York thing. In fact, McCarthy won 60.6% of his games with the Red Sox. Joe McCarthy was also the first ever manager of the year in 1936 and won the award three times. His record and talent was very similar to Stengal who was ranked ten spots below, but he won 17% more games, had success outside of New York and won league pennants. The fact that McCarthy accomplished all of that is why he is Top 10 and Stengal is not.

7. Paul Brown

Career College Coaching Record: 33-13-3 (.717 Winning Percentage)
Career Pro Coaching Record: 213-104-9 (.672 Winning Percentage)

Paul Brown did not coach college football long, but his winning percentage is better than most college coaches on this list. Winning nearly 72% of your games in major college football is a huge accomplishment. In addition to that record, he won a National Championship at Ohio State as well. The 1942 Ohio State Buckeyes won the National Championship and Brown led them to it. His 1943 team was one of the only losing teams he would ever coach and they were only bad because Brown lost the majority of his roster to the military draft and World War 2. He was forced to play 17 yr old recruits during that time. After that season in 1944, Brown was commissioned as a lieutenant in the Navy and classified as 1-A. The Navy instead of calling him to active duty wanted him to serve as the head football coach at the Great Lakes Naval Training Station outside of Chicago for two years. The plan was to put him on active duty, but since the war was winding down, they asked Brown to coach this team instead. This station was in between training and active duty for Navy recruits and they saw winning as a prideful thing obviously. Therefore Brown was a great choice and he led the team to a 15-5-2 record against the other service academies.

Brown is best known though for his work with the Cleveland Browns in the NFL and even before that in the now defunct AAFC. The team is in fact named after him and that alone gives him bonus points as he has an entire franchise named after him. Paul Brown would also later form the Cincinatti Bengals franchise. Additionally, Paul Brown is the first coach to hire a full-time staff of assistants. This guy is also credited by many as a major influence on breaking football's color barrier. However, he was not liked by everyone and had quite a few disputes with his players that led to his firing from the Browns in `1963. The fact that so many of his players disliked him is a big reason that Brown lands outside the top 5. His innovations and record clearly make him a top 5 coach. He won 7 professional championships and one in college. All 7 professional championships were with the Cleveland Browns! That's right not only did Brown win in Cleveland, he won several times. That combined with the innovations makes it clear he is a top 10 coach. If he wasn't disliked by his players, he would most likely be top 5. There is no doubt that Paul Brown is the greatest coach in the history of the Cleveland Browns. Brown was an NFL pioneer and one of the most important figures in sports history.

6. Bobby Bowden

Career Coaching Record: 377-129-4 (.745 Winning Percentage)

Bobby Bowden is the greatest coach in the history of college football. He is the winningest coach in major college football history. His 377 wins rank #1 all-time on the NCAA record book for FBS wins. Every year from 1987-2000 he led the Seminoles to a major bowl and a Top 5 finish. This is a feet that has since and most believe never will be duplicated. Florida State Football was named the team of the 90s by ESPN for this accomplishment. Bowden even beat another legend and another top 90s team in Nebraska and Tom Osborne for the 1993 National Championship (his first official). They did all of this despite having to play National Powerhouse Miami during those seasons. Think of how much better he would have looked if they didn't have those close calls with the Hurricanes. Those close calls that included 4 kicks sailing just outside the uprights. Each of which could have and should have ended in a Seminole victory. Bowden developed this team out of nowhere and helped lead it to the 10th highest winning percentage in FBS history. That's right the Seminoles are one of the 10 most winning programs ever despite where they started. FSU only acknowledges two National Championship wins which is the argument against Bowden, but looking at that is not looking at the whole picture. Besides if we use the Auburn method of counting championships which allows us to count any National Championship from any major source (a method that gives Auburn 5 championships instead of 2), then you see that FSU won 7 National Championships under Coach Bowden. That certainly would have helped boost him up much higher even into the Top 5 of just about any ranking. I still think he has a strong case and would like to discuss it further.

Bowden's legacy goes beyond what he did at his own school. He was the coach at West Virginia while another West Virginia school fell victim to a plane crash. After that plane crash, Bowden actually petitioned the NCAA to let WVU wear green jerseys against Ohio and play Marshall's final game of the 1970 season, but was denied. He was one of the first coaches to remember a fallen hero on his team's uniform when his players wore green crosses and MU for those Marshall victims. He is credited with helping bring the Marshall program back and helping to teach their offense to them while granting Marshall full access to their facility and game film. To this day, Marshall coach Jack Lengyel credits Bobby Bowden with helping the program recover. He is not as well known for his Mountaineer days, but that Marshall story is a great one. Additionally, all the winning the Mountaineers did in the 1970s was under Bowden. Bobby Bowden was able to win 9 games in his last season at WVU before ultimately leaving for Florida State.

To give you an idea of what Bowden did at Florida State, let's start with the field being named after him. Then let's talk about the fact that he has a statue of his likeness outside the stadium. Next let's talk about Florida State having no losing seasons since 1976 which was Bowden's first with the team. Then, you must realize that Florida State has a 30+ year active bowl game streak. This streak absolutely crushes every school. The Seminoles have been bowling every year since 1982. The next closest team last year was the Florida Gators who were bowling every year since 1990 until they went 4-8. FSU's bowl streak is one of the most dominant streaks in college football, nobody is even close to them. You also must realize that Florida State started as a woman's college and was not known for football. The two coaches before Bowden went 15-19 and 4-18. In fact, out of 7 head coaches before Bowden, 4 of them had losing records, including FSU's first coach who went 0-5. Before Bobby Bowden, FSU never had a 10 win season and only had 2 nine win seasons, but Bowden had 18 of those 10 win seasons at Florida State. He made FSU a monster powerhouse in the NCAA. Having all those winning seasons and that bowl record where the program was when he inherited it was quite impressive. Bowden would play anyone, anywhere, anytime and the Seminoles would win the majority of those matchups. He is a coaching legend that is well deserving of the 6th spot on this countdown and could be higher.

5. Mike Krzyzewski

Career Coaching Record: 983-306 (.763 Winning Percentage)

Krzyzewski is the Head Coach of Duke University and the Head Coach of Team USA. It speaks volumes about Coach K that he was the man chosen to lead USA basketball after a few down years. He was able to lead Team USA back to its top spot in basketball. However, it is what he has done at Duke that makes him the nation's best active coach. At Duke, Krzyzewski has won 4 National Championships, 11 Regional Championships (Final Four Appearances), 13 ACC Tournament Championships, and 12 ACC Regular Season Championships. Those wins are with Dean Smith and Roy Williams (both members of this countdown) coaching North Carolina. UNC also had some Michael Jordan guy. Additionally, Coach K has been to 8 Championship Games, and 13 Elite Eights. Since going to Duke, he has made them one of the best teams in America winning nearly 79% of his games. He was able to do this despite Duke having some of the harshest academic requirements around. Duke's 19 consecutive NCAA appearances are second to only Kansas for the longest active streak. People somehow have some illusion that Duke is not that relevant anymore in college basketball, but they won in 2010, and Coach K has a .767 winning percentage in postseason play. Krzyzewski also of course is the winningest coach in NCAA history. There also may be a court named after him in front of what I consider the craziest basketball fanbase in America. Good luck finding out much about Duke basketball before Coach K. They had one good season in 1964. Other than '64, there is no history and it is clear that Coach K made Duke basketball. Coach K built this empire that is still a force to be reckoned with.

4. Vince Lombardi

Career Coaching Record: 96-34-6 (.738 Winning Percentage)

Vince Lombardi is the greatest coach in NFL history and not many people would argue it. After all, the Super Bowl Trophy is named the Lombardi Trophy. Lombardi won the first two Super Bowls and won 3 championships before that for a total of 5. He only coached in the NFL for 10 years too, so he won the league championship in half the seasons he coached. Those championships included the first two in a merged league. The legend unfortunately died way too soon before he even got a second season with the Washington Redskins. He had the Redskins on the right track and likely would have won quite a few more titles if not for his tragic death. The year before Lombardi took over the Packers, they went 1-10, Lombardi would never have a losing record with them or the Redskins. That 1-10 finish had the Packers fans quite upset, but hiring Lombardi and his success that first season led to the Packers fans being hopeful. As a result, the Packers were able to sell out every game of Lombardi's 2nd season. That hopefulness actually led to a sell out of every game since in Packer history. The streak of sellouts continues this day for arguably the NFL's most passionate fanbase. Lombardi would also create the Lombardi sweep and lead his team to win one of the most famous games in history, The Ice Bowl. The season after Lombardi left the Packers for Washington, the team had a losing record. Lombardi's excellence with the Packers came after a dreadful season and was followed by a losing season. In between that though, with Lombardi as coach, they won 5 Championships in 9 seasons. His legacy goes beyond that as he died with a then NFL record 9 game postseason winning streak which was just recently broken by Bill Belichick. Who knows what that record could have become had Lombardi stayed alive to see it through?

3. Phil Jackson

Career Coaching Record: 1155-485 (.704 Winning Percentage)

Jackson has the most titles of any coach in NBA history and the highest winning percentage. His 11 championships are 2 more than Auerbach and with different players. Sure, he did have a lot of talent, but the guy is a winner. Also unlike Auerbach, his stars have not won championships without Phil. Well, Shaq won 1 title on the backend of his career with Dwayne Wade and Pat Riley, but the others have not won without Phil. In fact, Kobe has won 5 NBA Championships with Phil and 0 without. Additionally, the other head coaches have been major flops. Rudy T suddenly resigned, Mike Brown was a disaster, and Mike D'Antoni was not much better. The Lakers have absolutely flopped in the playoffs with Kobe Bryant and non Phil Jackson. However, when Jackson was added to the mix, they made the playoffs each season and became an instant contender. He did coach Michael Jordan in Chicago and that is a big reason he won those 6 championships, but Jackson had a lot to do with those championships as well. It was not all Jordan. Don't forget that Jordan has not won without Phil either. He would help the Bulls get past the Pistons road block and break through to win some championships. The Chicago Bulls would defeat the Bad Boys and win the NBA Championship in only Phil's second season. Those Bad Boys were really good, but Jackson and Jordan's Bulls were better. The Chicago Bulls were so good under Phil Jackson that they still advanced to the 2nd round of the NBa playoffs while Jordan was off playing baseball. When Jackson and Jordan left the Bulls together, that's when the Bulls weren't so good. They were still pretty good with no Jordan and only Jackson. No matter how you look at Phil Jackson, you have to look at him as a winner. He has 11 NBA Championships. Jackson also won 6 consecutive NBA Championships in seasons he coached with two different franchises. He three-peated with two different championships. Most coaches dream of a couple championships and Jackson won 6 NBA Championships with Chicago and 5 with LA. Absolutely incredible coach is Phil Jackson. Don't sell him short because of the talent, the guy was amazing.

2. Rod Dedeaux

Career Coaching Record: 1332-571-11 (.700 Winning Percentage)

Dedeaux is probably the least known legend on this list by the general population and that is a shame. He was absolutely brilliant in managing the USC Trojans. This guy led the Trojans to ten championships as head coach and an 11th as co-coach. Rod Dedeaux became the co-coach in 1946, when the Trojans old coach, Sam Barry, returned from the Navy in World War 2. It was Barry that originally recommended Dedeaux for the position in 1942. After Barry's death in 1950 it was solely Dedeaux's job. He would go on to win ten more championships, including 5 straight from 1970-1974. 5  titles in a row in a college sport is unbelievable with the changing rosters. This guy somehow managed to do it. Since the turn of the century this year there have been 11 different champions, but Dedeaux won 5 straight in the 70s with several other coaching legends around. He won 70% of his games which is also incredible given the level of competition he played. Dedeaux's 11 titles are more than double every other school in NCAA besides Texas and LSU. Not just coach, more than double every other school. 11 Championships is just an incredible feat from the longtime Trojan coach and undervalued all-time legend.

Another fun fact is that all the ballplayers in the film, Field of Dreams were prepped for the film by Dedeaux.

1. John Wooden

Career Coaching Record: 664-162 (.804 Winning Percentage)

If you do not agree with John Wooden being #1 than you do not know coaching. Every successful coach since John Wooden has seen and used his pyramid of success. They have tried to take every bit of knowledge from Wooden that they can and that includes myself. He won ten championships for the UCLA Bruins and won more than 80% of the games he coached in. You have to remember that Wooden only coached UCLA for 16 years and he won 10 championships. That is an incredible success rate. All the championships were won over a 12 year period and the wins included an outstanding 7 NCAA Championships in a row! During that time, his team won an amazing 88 games in a row! 88 games in a row! That kind of streak is unimaginable in this day and age. We freak out when a team gets to 20 wins thinking it is all-time good. This guy led his team to 88 consecutive victories. He is a coaching pioneer, a legend, and the only possible coach for #1. He is the first member of the Basketball Hall of Fame as both a player and a coach. His short, simple inspirational messages are the stuff of legend. UCLA was nothing before John Wooden, absolutely nothing and he made it the national powerhouse. This program is arguably the biggest in the country still and it is 100% due to John Wooden. If you disagree with him at #1 you are just wrong. I could go on and on about Wooden, but I don't think I need to. The guy is clear cut, head and shoulders above the rest. Influential, spectacular, and the greatest coach to ever live.

Hope you enjoyed this countdown and you see why the coaches were ranked as they were. Until next time, have a great one.

-Noland

Pair of Seminoles Make History

Two Florida State Seminoles were elected into the Hall of Fame last night. These Seminoles who played for the great Bobby Bowden at FSU were both elected on their first chance on the ballot. This honor is well deserved for NFL legends Derrick Brooks and Walter Jones, but how historic is the accomplishment?

Brooks and Jones join only a handful of Hall of Famers who get to enter with someone that went to the same college. In fact, the duo enters as only the second duo to be 1st ballot Hall of Famers from the same college to enter in the same year. It is already quite an honor to enter the Hall of Fame, but to do it with a fellow Seminole has got to be a thrill for these guys.

Each of these individuals can be considered the greatest of all time at their position. I would say that Jones is the GOAT and have a lot of people who agree with me. Brooks has a bit more competition, but I'd say he is the best outside backer of all time as well. That is quite an accomplishment for the Florida State Seminoles.
Walter Jones was so good that former Seahawks coach Mike Holmgreen said that Jones was the best player he ever coached. Holmgreen coached a guy by the name of Joe Montana among many other greats by the way. What an honor seeing these men accomplish so much must be for Bobby. I think he is more proud of the people they are though.

Derrick Brooks and Walter Jones are better men off the field than they are on it. Brooks has been the NFL Man of the Year for his deeds off the field and Walter Jones is well known for his work in the community. These gentlemen make me proud to be a Seminole. I know that Seminole fans, Buccaneer fans, Seahawk fans, and football fans in general are thrilled with these selections. Well done men, you certainly deserve it.

-Noland

10 Things I Am Thankful For In Sports

I love the holiday of Thanksgiving. Every day should be thanksgiving and we should be thankful for everything we have. However, having a day dedicated solely to that purpose is awesome. Having a day where we just spend time with family and get to enjoy football is flat out amazing. In that spirit of giving thanks, I decided to rank the ten things I am most thankful for in sports.

10) Clayton Kershaw
I am thankful for Clayton Kershaw because he is such a class act. Here we have the best pitcher in all of baseball and he is God first. Over a year ago I wrote a post about how much I admired that Clayton Kershaw is able to put himself second. He doesn't care about individual accolades or success. He wants to lift others up. Kershaw is a shining example in sports. You can read and view a post about Clayton Kershaw here and admire him pitching next season. His pitching is pure artwork.

9) Kawhi Leonard
I have long considered Kawhi Leonard one of the most underrated players in the NBA. Here I talked about him being underrated. This guy plays the game the right way. He is a throwback, unselfish player. He fits the Spurs model perfectly and is the future when Duncan is gone. It is refreshing to see a newer athlete have such a team attitude.

8) Myles Jack
If you do not know who Myles Jack is, you should. He is a really good two way player for the UCLA Bruins. As a true freshman Jack is an amazing impact player for UCLA. A great linebacker and RB it is a pleasure watching Jack play. It is just amazing that someone can be that good at two positions in major college football as a Freshman.

7) Bobby Bowden's Return
I love FSU. I love Bobby Bowden. I love Jimbo Fisher. However, let's be honest, the exit for Bowden was ugly. Part of it felt dirty liking Bowden and FSU, but seeing Fisher successful. Bowden's welcome return and acceptance makes everything alright and everything great. So thankful that he is back.

6) Tim Duncan
Tim Duncan is the class athlete in sport. Took less money to help his team. Never talking about individual accolades. All he talks about is his teammates. Never blames anyone. I love Tim Duncan and want him to go out with a ring.

5) The Orioles Being Relevant
I suffered through more than a decade of completely awful teams. These last two seasons where the Orioles have mattered in October have been awesome. Dan Duquette, Buck Showalter, Jim Presley and others have been a godsend to this organization. I could not be more thrilled. I put all the Orioles in this category. I am so thankful for players like Manny Machado and I didn't want to separate any of them.

4) All the FSU Pro Athletes
Seeing my favorite athletes in the pros succeed so much has been a great thrill. From Buster Posey to Anquan Boldin these guys have been fantastic. When there is no rooting interest in a pro game, it is nice to root for my Seminoles instead and I usually do have plenty to root for.

3) FSU Football Being 11-0
Surprised this isn't #1. I could easily have made it #1, but the job isn't done yet. In addition to that, some things are more important than winning and losing. My top two are some of those things.

2) Jimbo Fisher Coaching the Noles
Jimbo Fisher has once again made FSU the premier team in college football. Not only that, but he has done it with class. These three stories mean more to me than any win or loss ever could.
Jimbo's Son Fights Rare Blood Disease
Jimbo Visits Syracuse Player in the Hospital
FSU Honors Scholarship


1) All of Our Military Athletes
In the past I have written about many athletes who have done service to this fine country. How can these individuals not be the group we are most grateful for in sports. These people allow us to enjoy our sports and freedoms. So grateful for these individuals and all our service men and women. These are just some of our brave heroes.

Bowden: Ex-Coaches Should Be on BCS Committee

The legendary Bobby Bowden recently said that ex coaches should make up the committee selecting the playoff games. Although it may be a completely different system than the BCS, we do know it will have 4 teams involved. The committee that Bowden and several others have proposed would be similar to the one used for college basketball. Bobby Bowden has offered to serve on said committee. He joins other coaches who have expressed interest in serving on this committee. RC Slocumb, John Cooper, Phil Fulmer, and Lavell Edwards have all expressed interest in the process.

"No person is better equipped to handle the pressure that would go with being on that committee than an ex-coach," former Texas A&M coach R.C. Slocum told ESPN.com. "We've seen a lot more pressure than being on a poll."

Mack Brown said in a recent interview that he supported ex-coaches being on the selection committee. I think that is the ideal scenario for everyone. We will see what happens.

-Noland

Is Florida State Back?

Before I get started today, let me just say that for some reason my Twitter account has been suspended. They said this usually happens due to unusual following practices which is strange because I am only following like 34 people and have very few followers due to my short time on Twitter. The only thing I can think of is that I challenged the writer from SI, but even then it does not make sense. I will keep you posted when it is no longer suspended.

Anyways this is my final post about the Athlon feature on FSU football. It talks about whether FSU is back as a national title contender. Here are some thoughts. The full article is here.

David Fox said FSU is on the right track, but not truly back. He said they won't be back until they compete for the national championship. Finishing in the top 25 isn't good enough for them to be back according to Fox.

Brandon Gaell said FSU's dominance in the ACC will likely never be replicated, but if being back is saying the Noles can win the ACC, then yes they are back.

Steve Lassan said they are going in the right direction, but it will take another year or two likely.

Mark Ross contends that FSU never left. He said the following "I know that it was the '90s when the Seminoles dominated the ACC and won their two national championships, the last one coming in 1999. And I know that this is 2012, which means it's been more than a decade since the mighty 'Noles were on top of the college football mountain and six seasons since they made their last BCS bowl appearance (2006 Orange Bowl), but it's not like they've plummeted to the bottom of the rankings either. Overall, Florida State has won its last four bowl games and in Jimbo Fisher's first two years as head coach, the 'Noles have won 19 games combined and were ACC Atlantic Division champions in 2009."

Patrick Snow thinks that it would be a fair statement to say FSU is back.

While I would prefer the dominance of the 90s, I am kind of with Ross on this one. We have to put things in perspective. The Seminoles have had a winning year every season since 1976. That is absolutely amazing. Even in the down decade of the 2000s the Noles averaged 8.5 wins. I mean that is still pretty impressive. No team will replicate the run from 1987-2000. We should be thankful that the dark days for FSU appear over and that even during the dark days they had winning seasons. This FSU team is the best we have had in a while and we should be very excited for this year.

-Noland

Greatest Moments in Seminole History

I am almost done with the Athlon Sports features on the Florida State Seminoles and my breakdown of them. This is something fun to look at in the offseason. Today I will focus on the greatest moments in Seminole history slideshow they posted. Then, either later today or tomorrow, I will break down their article about whether the Seminoles are back. Should be interesting. If you go over to Athlon they have video of each of their moments. Hard to argue with the moments they chose. I will only post video of the top 2.

5. Choke at Doke
4. 1991 Michigan Rout
3. Bowden's 1st Big Road Win
2. Peter Warrick Goes Off in National Championship
1. 1994 Orange Bowl

Here is the video of Warrick dominating the title against the Hokies. That catch with the defender all over him gets me every time.

And Here is the 1994 Orange Bowl against Nebraska. The original video posted by Athlon belongs to a disabled account, so I posted another video. This video really only has the field goals, but still great.

Interesting that two of the big moments came against Nebraska.

I can't really replace anything on that list. The only one I'd consider is taking out the one before my time, but how can you really it was so significant. I did want to share this footage of Greg Jones the beast though because he had some of the best moments in Seminole history as far as I am concerned.

Vs. Dexter Reid

Vs. Sean Taylor

Vs. Entire Clemson Defense

O man those were the days of FSU greatness.

-Noland